تسجيل الدخولThe tension that had gripped the room moments earlier dissolved the instant Linda stood up.Her face had transformed completely.No more tears. No more fear.Just something dangerously close to excitement.“Indeed, she is,” Linda said brightly, her gaze fixed on Lord Shevek as though he were an old friend instead of a man who had just shattered their entire reality.Bella blinked.That reaction alone was enough to throw her off balance.Her mother had been breaking down not long ago. Now she was… smiling?“So tell me,” Linda continued, stepping closer with sudden enthusiasm, “what would you like to have? Tea? Something stronger? I can prepare anything you want.”Bella stared at her.“Mom?” she called slowly. “Are you alright?”Linda waved her off lightly. “Of course I am.”She didn’t even look at Bella.Her attention remained locked on Shevek.As if Bella wasn’t the one whose entire life had just been rewritten.Shevek gave a calm nod. “Anything you offer will be fine.”That answer ma
Bella felt like the room had tilted slightly off balance.Not violently.Just enough to make everything inside her feel… uncertain.Lord Shevek sat across from her like a man carved out of old history—composed, unreadable, almost too calm for what was unfolding.Her father.The word still didn’t sit right in her mind.It felt borrowed.Unreal.She studied him carefully, searching for something familiar, something she could cling to. But all she found was restraint wrapped around power—like a blade still sheathed, but never forgotten.Her emotions collided violently inside her chest.Anger.Curiosity.Confusion.And something more fragile she didn’t want to name yet.Hope.She exhaled slowly and crossed her arms tighter. “So you’re saying you didn’t know I existed until recently?”Lord Shevek inclined his head slightly. “That is correct.”Bella frowned. “And suddenly a letter appears and you just decide to show up?”A faint smirk touched his lips, but it wasn’t mocking. It was thoughtf
Bella couldn’t move.The stranger’s voice rolled through the room like dark velvet—smooth, commanding, dangerously calm.Everything about him felt unnatural.Not in the monstrous way she had grown up hearing stories about vampires.No.This man felt refined.Ancient.Like power had settled into his bones centuries ago and never once loosened its grip.Hilda stirred violently inside her.Alert.Curious.Cautious.Bella narrowed her eyes slightly, refusing to show how unsettled she felt. “Who are you?”The stranger tilted his head, amusement dancing at the corners of his mouth.“That’s disappointing,” he murmured. “You truly don’t recognize me.”Before Bella could answer, a sharp gasp sounded behind her.She turned immediately.Linda stood frozen near the hallway entrance, one trembling hand clutching the wall for support. Her face had gone deathly pale.Fear flashed through Bella instantly.“Mom?”Linda didn’t answer.Her eyes remained locked on the man at the doorway as tears rapidly
Bella woke to warmth still lingering on the other side of the bed.But the space beside her was empty.She reached out instinctively anyway, her fingers brushing only rumpled sheets and the faint imprint of Dave Stark’s presence—like a memory refusing to fully fade.A folded note sat neatly at the center of the mattress.Her breath caught.She picked it up immediately.The handwriting was unmistakable. Controlled. Elegant. Unmistakably his.You look beautiful when you sleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake you. I had a call I couldn’t ignore. I’ll be back soon.Don’t miss me too much.— DaveA soft laugh escaped her lips before she could stop it.Of course he would leave something like this.Half teasing.Half possessive.Entirely him.Bella pressed the note to her chest for a moment, closing her eyes as warmth spread through her ribs. Even when he wasn’t physically there, he had a way of lingering in her thoughts—like an imprint on her soul that refused to fade.Last night flashed th
Bella sat in the quiet aftermath of her mother’s words, her thoughts still scattered like broken glass.Rose’s tears had slowed, but the weight of what she had confessed still hung heavily in the air—thick, suffocating, impossible to ignore.Bella swallowed, trying to steady herself.Everything felt too fast.Too much.Too layered.As though her life had been rewritten while she was asleep and no one had thought to wake her before flipping the page.Her fingers curled slightly in her lap.“I won’t forgive myself if something happens to Olivia,” Rose whispered again, voice shaking as she wiped her face with trembling hands.Bella leaned forward immediately.“You are not to blame,” she said firmly, brushing her mother’s tear-streaked cheek. “And nothing will happen to Olivia. I promise you.”Her voice was steady, even if her heart wasn’t.Behind her, Dave Stark’s presence anchored her. He didn’t speak at first—just placed a hand gently on her shoulder, grounding her, steadying the emoti
The room felt smaller than it should have been.Rose sat across from Bella and Eros, her hands clasped tightly together as if holding herself in place. The past wasn’t just a memory anymore—it was something alive, clawing its way out of her chest with every word she spoke.And once she started, there was no stopping it.Her voice softened as she drifted back in time.Cold rain. Heavy sky. No shelter.Just a trembling three-year-old Bella pressed against her chest while she stood beneath a dying tree, trying to shield her child from a storm that showed no mercy.“I remember that night too clearly,” Rose whispered, eyes distant. “You were so small… so warm in my arms, Bella. I kept telling you it would be fine.”Her throat tightened.“But I didn’t even believe my own words.”She shifted slightly, as though still feeling the weight of that memory.Pregnant again.Cold. Alone.Broken in a way she didn’t yet have words for.“I thought about going back to the Crescent Moon Pack,” she admitt
Lunch was usually loud—voices overlapping, laughter spilling, trays clattering—but the moment Bella took her seat at the Hybrids’ table, an unnatural stillness crept in.Joy and Eve sat beside her, shoulders tense, eyes alert. This was the first time they’d joined the table while Serena was present
Seeing Agnes leaning over Marcus at the other end of the cafeteria made Bella roll her eyes.Others inhaled attention rather than just receiving it.With a thud, Bella sat down beside her friends and slid her tray forward as if the world could not possibly interrupt her."That was disturbing and im
Bella noticed Dave Stark’s name before she even registered the vibration of her phone.Her heart leapt, light and reckless, the way it always did when his name appeared. She’d saved his contact with a simple white heart—nothing dramatic, nothing loud. Just quiet certainty.She fixed her gaze on the
All eyes in the room turned to Bella at the same time.The music pulsed harder, the bass thundering through the crowded room, but it was as if the world itself had shrunk down to a solitary, choking focus. Warmth slithered up her back. The aroma of alcohol, perspiration, and wolf musk filled the ai







